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GAO-25-108002 1 (May 6, 2025)

handle is hein.gao/ptyonrdtmt0001 and id is 1 raw text is: GAOU.S. GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE 441 G St. N.W. Comptroller General Washington, DC 20548 of the United States May 6, 2025 The Honorable Linda McMahon Secretary of Education U.S. Department of Education 400 Maryland Avenue, SW Washington, DC 20202 Priority Open Recommendations: Department of Education Dear Secretary McMahon: Congratulations on your appointment. The purpose of this letter is to call your personal attention to two areas based on GAO's past work and eight open priority recommendations, which are enclosed.1 Additionally, there are 95 other GAO open recommendations that we will continue to work with your staff to address. We are highlighting the following areas that warrant your timely and focused attention. Specifically: Improving the federal student aid system. The Department of Education needs to take actions to enhance oversight of federal student aid and loan programs as student loan debt exceeds $1.6 trillion. The needs of current students and those with student loan debt must continue to be addressed, regardless of which federal entity ultimately oversees these programs. For example, in the area of improving Information Technology (IT) acquisitions and management - an area on our High Risk list - we noted challenges in Education implementing new IT systems. For example, Education faced various challenges in deploying its modernized Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form, such as technical issues that blocked some students from completing the new form. In addition, the agency has not consistently provided students with timely and sufficient information needed to complete the form. Improving the process to complete and submit the form would make it easier for students and families to apply for financial aid. Similarly, Education should take steps to improve testing activities in the operation of its FAFSA Processing System (FPS). While Education established policy to guide its testing activities that were consistent with selected leading practices, it did not fully implement those policies. Education also lacks a policy and sound implementation for independent verification and validation reviews (IV&V). Specifically, we recommend that Education: (1) develop and 1GAO considers a recommendation to be a priority if when implemented, it may significantly improve government operations, for example, by realizing large dollar savings; eliminating mismanagement, fraud, and abuse; or making progress toward addressing a high-risk or duplication issue. GAO-25-108002 Education Priority Recommendations Page 1

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